Zacharias 1

1 In the eighth month, in the second year of [the reign of] Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, the son of Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying,

[I am] Zechariah, a prophet, the son of Berekiah and grandson of Iddo. When Darius [had been the emperor of Persia] for almost two years, during November [of that year], Yahweh gave me this message:

2 The Lord has been very angry with your fathers.

“I was very angry with your ancestors.

3 And you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord Almighty: Turn to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will turn to you, says the Lord of hosts.

So tell this to the people: [I, ] the Commander of the armies of angels, say, ‘Return to me, and [if you do that], I will [help] you again.

4 And be you not as your fathers, whom the prophets before charged, saying, Thus says the Lord Almighty: Turn you from your evil ways, and from your evil practices: but they listened not, and attended not to listen to me, says the Lord.

Do not be like your ancestors. [Other] prophets, who have now died, [continually] proclaimed to your ancestors that they should stop doing the evil things that they were continually doing. But they refused to pay attention to what I said.

5 Where are your fathers, and the prophets? Will they live for ever?

Your ancestors [have died and are now in their graves] [RHQ]. And the prophets did not [RHQ] live forever, [either].

6 But do you receive my words and mine ordinances, all that I command by my Spirit to my servants the prophets, who lived in the days of your fathers; and they answered and said, As the Lord Almighty determined to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our practices, so has he done to us.

But I punished [IDM] [the people for disobeying] the commands and the decrees which I commanded my servants the prophets [to tell to the people]. Then they (repented/turned away from their evil behavior) and said, ‘The Commander of the armies of angels has done to us what we deserved for our evil behavior, just like he said that he would do.’”

7 On the twenty-fourth [day] in the eleventh month, this is the month Sabat, in the second year of [the reign of] Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, the son of Barachias, the son of Addo, the prophet, saying,

[Three months later], on February 15, Yahweh gave [another] message to me.

8 I saw by night, and behold a man mounted on a red horse, and he stood between the shady mountains; and behind him were red horses, and grey, and piebald, and white.

During the night [I had a vision. In the vision] I saw an [angel] who was on a red horse. He was in a narrow valley among some myrtle trees. Behind him were [angels on] red, brown, and white horses.

9 And I said, What are these, [my] lord? And the angel spoke with me said to me, I will show you what these [things] are.

I asked the angel who had been talking to me, “Sir, who are those [angels on the horses]?” He replied, “I will show you who they are.”

10 And the man that stood between the mountains answered, and said to me, These are [they] whom the Lord has sent forth to go round the earth.

Then the [angel] who had been under the myrtle trees explained. [He said, ] “They are the [angels] whom Yahweh sent [to (patrol/see what is happening in)] the [entire] world.”

11 And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood between the mountains, and said, We have gone round all the earth, and, behold, all the earth is inhabited, and is at rest.

Then those angels reported to the angel who was [there] among the myrtle trees, “We have traveled throughout the world, and we have found out that [the army of the emperor of Persia has conquered nations] throughout the world, [and that] those nations are now (helpless/unable to resist his army).”

12 Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord Almighty, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem, and the cities of Juda, which you has disregarded these seventy years?

Then the angel asked, “Commander of the armies of angels, how long will you continue to not be merciful to Jerusalem and the [other] towns in Judah? You have been angry with them for 70 years!”

13 And the Lord Almighty answered the angel that spoke with me good words and consolatory sayings.

[So] Yahweh spoke kindly to the angel who had talked to me, saying things that comforted/encouraged him.

14 And the angel that spoke with me said to me, Cry out and say, Thus says the Lord Almighty; I have been jealous for Jerusalem and Sion with great jealousy.

Then the angel who had been talking with me said to me, “Proclaim this [to the people of Jerusalem]: The Commander of the armies of angels says that he is very concerned about [the people who live on] Zion [Hill] and [in the other parts of] Jerusalem.

15 And I am very angry with the heathen that combine to attack [her]: forasmuch as I indeed was a little angry, but they combined to attack [her] for evil.

But he is very angry with the nations that are [proud and feel] safe. He was only a little bit angry [with the people of Judah], but [he is very angry with the surrounding nations because] they caused [the people of Judah to experience] complete disaster.

16 Therefore thus says the Lord: I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; and my house shall be rebuilt in her, says the Lord Almighty, and a measuring line shall yet be stretched out over Jerusalem.

Therefore, this is what he says: ‘I will again be merciful to [the people of] Jerusalem, and they will rebuild my temple. Men will measure [all the land in] the city [before they start rebuilding the houses].’

17 And the angel that spoke with me said to me, Cry yet, and say, Thus says the Lord Almighty; Yet shall cities be spread abroad through prosperity; and the Lord shall yet have mercy upon Sion, and shall choose Jerusalem.

The Commander of the armies of angels [also] said this: ‘Tell the people that [the people in] my towns [in Judah] will soon be very prosperous again, and I will encourage [the people of] Jerusalem, and their city will again be my chosen [city].’”

18 And I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold four horns.

Then I looked up, and I saw in front of me four [animal] horns.

19 And I said to the angel that spoke with me, What are these things, [my] lord? And he said to me, These are the horns that have scattered Juda, and Israel, and Jerusalem.

I asked the angel who had been speaking to me, “What are those [horns]?” He replied, “Those horns [represent the armies that] forced [the people of] Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah and Israel to go [to other countries].”

20 And the Lord showed me four artificers.

Then Yahweh showed me four (craftsmen/men who make things from metal).

21 And I said, What are these coming to do? And he said, These are the horns that scattered Juda, and they broke Israel in pieces, and none of them lifted up his head: and these are come forth to sharpen them for their hands, [even] the four horns, the nations that lifted up the horn against the land of the Lord to scatter it.

I asked, “What are those men coming to do?” He replied, “[The armies represented by] those horns caused [the people of] Judah to be scattered, with the result that they suffered greatly. But the craftsmen have come to cause those who attacked [IDM] Judah to be terrified and crushed.”